Receiver Hitch Step: Innovation in Elevation

The receiver hitch step is a clever innovation that accepts the fact that most people were balancing precariously on tow hitch equipment when trying to reach into their vehicles. Designers saw good reason for making this tempting habit a safer one by providing a natty platform to place your feet on.

The fact that there is a receiver to insert the step into makes this useful bit of equipment not so much a thing in itself but a mere attachment for equipment you already have.

The steps come in many different shapes and styles and some have bright LED displays or flat fronts for logo or stickers to be displayed. There are small ones that merely provide a foothold like the SUV step that is a dainty affair that is as small as 5-3/4" to 7-1/4" in size. This handy leg-up installs easily and allows for easy access to the roof racks.

Truck steps are bigger affairs, around 6" to 9" in size. Some of them are extendable or retractable which allows access whether the tailgate is up or down.

Receiver hitch steps come in elaborate styles with two ascending rung-like stairs or two full-sized black powder coated steps to the smaller kind already described. They are normally manufactured out of aluminum for strength and durability and then finished with a non-slip surface. Most steps come with a steel hinge pin. Prices range anything from $40 for the smaller ones to $100 for the ascending type with two stairs.